The World, One Step at a Timehttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com
Because Sometimes 140 Characters Just Isn't EnoughFri, 18 Aug 2017 04:55:33 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/c7219c84728a9d53b11b03811d0c8a56?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngThe World, One Step at a Timehttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com
My Return?https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/my-return/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/my-return/#respondWed, 05 Oct 2016 05:10:59 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/?p=294]]>I haven’t posted on this blog in a very long time. In fact, the last post before this one is dated 2013. As of this writing, we’re now more than halfway through 2016. That may not be a long time cosmically, but it is a long time between blog posts! But I wanted to update this right now because I think I may have a purpose for this again. I won’t go into detail right now; this post is more to affirm that I still remember how to do this. The technical stuff, I mean. Not that anyone is really following this blog anymore–but this post may explain, at some time in the future, why there is such a large gap between posts. Well, I guess it doesn’t really explain anything, does it? I’m sorry for that. Really. I am. But I’m just not yet ready to throw myself into it in the way I need to be in order to really explain anything. But if this actually works, and it actually shows up on my long-defunct blog, then at least one hurdle will be surmounted.

Thank you for your time and patience. I love you all.

]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/my-return/feed/0dashripkinIt’s been a long time, hasn’t it?https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/its-been-a-long-time-hasnt-it/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/its-been-a-long-time-hasnt-it/#respondWed, 17 Apr 2013 00:35:01 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/?p=280]]>I haven’t posted to my blog for a very long while. I’ve been suppressing this part of me for various reasons, and I can’t do it any longer. While I may not be able to post to this as often as I would like, I will post to it with some regularity again, God willing. There are things that are working in my mind and in my heart. I believe changes are in store for me soon, and I am praying that I am following the path He has set before me. More to come ….]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/its-been-a-long-time-hasnt-it/feed/0dashripkinLong time, no seehttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/long-time-no-see/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/long-time-no-see/#commentsSun, 09 Oct 2011 09:25:15 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/?p=277]]>I haven’t updated my blog in a long time, I know. Not that there are that many regular readers here, but there were some. And there are many reasons for the delay. One of those reasons was that I was tossing around the idea of moving my blog to another platform. I have decided against that. It shall stay here. One of these days, I may purchase a URL for it, but it will still be here when I do. So, now that crisis is solved, and I can move on. I do have much to share, and some of it has to wait for a very special day, but I’ll do everything I can to make sure this stays much more up-to-date than it has. Until then, do take a gander at some of the blogs in my blogroll on the right side of the page here. Down, just a little bit. There you go. These are all A-1 approved-by-me blogs. Enjoy!]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/long-time-no-see/feed/1dashripkinQuote of the Dayhttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/quote-of-the-day/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/quote-of-the-day/#respondSat, 13 Aug 2011 05:14:05 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/?p=268]]>I’ve decided to try running a little “Quote of the Day” here on the site. I just want to see if I can do it and how it works. I’ve thought about doing this on Twitter from time to time, or maybe even my Facebook page, but for some reason, I got the idea to add it to my sidebar here. So, I’m going to try it out. The quotes will be culled from everywhere. Books, TV, movies, games, whatever. I may even throw in a personal quote from someone I know from time to time (“Skiing?”). It’s an experiment right now, so we’ll see how it goes. I added a “Quote of the Day Archive” page as well, just for reference. Comments are always welcome. Let me know if you like it! Oh, and I’ll have some more real content coming soon.
EDIT:
I tried it for a couple of days, and I decided it was something that would work better on my Facebook page than here. Besides, my Facebook page could use some content!]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/quote-of-the-day/feed/0dashripkinA Word About the Debt Ceiling … Or Nothttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/a-word-about-the-debt-ceiling-or-not/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/a-word-about-the-debt-ceiling-or-not/#respondSat, 30 Jul 2011 05:30:56 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/a-word-about-the-debt-ceiling-or-not/]]>I keep hearing about the debt ceiling. It’s all over the television. It’s smeared across every newspaper. Twitter is abuzz. Everyone has something to say about the debt ceiling. As I search for something to write about, I keep thinking that maybe I, too, have something to say about the debt ceiling. But the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that I do not have anything to say about the debt ceiling. Then it hit me: that’s the point.

What point, do you ask? Well, I’ll tell you: I’m no economist. I’m not even particularly good with my own bills. My wife keeps track of all the money for me. She makes sure the bills are paid on time. We don’t always have the things we want, but we always have the things we need (thank God!). But special economic knowledge doesn’t seem to be a prerequisite for speaking out about the debt ceiling. This country is full of armchair congressmen that have the answer to all the country’s ills. I wish I was one of those people. Alas, I am not. I do not have the answers to all the country’s ills. I do not have the answer to my own ills. All I have is this:

Proverbs 17:27-28

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. (ESV)

I think maybe we have shown the world a little too much folly. Now may be the time to close our lips. It’s not something that comes naturally to any of us (especially me). But I’ve been working on this, and I find that strife is like fire—it’s looking for fuel. If it finds none, it will move on. Does that mean we should just silently accept our fate? By no means! Remember, this country was founded by a bunch of yahoos that snuck onto a ship and threw all the tea into the harbor. We don’t accept injustice in any form, and that is what I think our best quality is, as a culture. But we should always speak—and act—with thoughtfulness. We should carefully consider the options and alternatives. And we should, really, try to recognize the subjects on which we are ignorant.

What makes a fool? A fool is someone who doesn’t know what it is that he doesn’t know. A fool thinks his own special set of knowledge is all there is to know. A wise man knows that he knows very little, and only speaks about those things which he knows. So, I may not know anything about the debt ceiling, but I do know something about being quiet. And so I shall.

]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/a-word-about-the-debt-ceiling-or-not/feed/0dashripkinI’ve Failedhttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/ive-failed/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/ive-failed/#commentsFri, 22 Jul 2011 04:37:40 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/ive-failed/]]>I’ve failed you. I know it. I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I’m looking at the clock, and if I don’t get this post up in 20 minutes, it will have officially been one whole month since I’ve posted on this blog.

I don’t know why that is, really. It’s not that I’ve been extra busy or anything. It’s not like I forgot, either. It’s been there, in the back of my mind all the time. I’ve even had people remind me face-to-face. I really wanted to do at least one update a week. I’d even picked a day: every Sunday. I figured that was a great time to relax and maybe reflect on the past week’s events, or write about the upcoming week’s events. And then … it just didn’t happen. It’s almost like I ran out of gas.

I could blame it on the tornado. Six weeks out, you know. And in reality, that may have something to do with it, as I’ve felt somewhat out-of-sorts lately. I’m struggling, it seems, with my direction. Yes, I know, the last time I posted on this blog it was about new directions and how I was embracing those. And yet, here I am, struggling with those directions. I guess I’m frustrated that something didn’t just happen, you know? It’s like, I know that I’ve got to move forward, and yet, the gate still looks closed to me. I’m a bull, ready to get this guy off my back, and I’m stuck in the corral. (I apologize for the rodeo reference. I’m not a fan, but the analogy seemed appropriate.) I guess it just makes me want to give up.

But I won’t give up. So I’ve spent a month spinning in circles. That’s not the end of the world. I know where I need to go. I know what I need to do. I don’t know the role I’m to play, but I know the direction to head. And I shall. So, accept my apologies, if you looked for something here in the last month, and found nothing. I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

And thank you for visiting. Comments are always welcome!

]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/ive-failed/feed/4dashripkinOld Directions, Anewhttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/old-directions-anew/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/old-directions-anew/#commentsWed, 22 Jun 2011 06:09:01 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/old-directions-anew/]]>Priorities are something one should take out, dust off, and give a good once-over every so often. It’s healthy and reaffirming. It’s nice to know that you, yourself, still approve of what you’re doing, since you’re not likely to get that from anywhere else. The media will hound you, day after day, with messages designed to make you re-evaluate what you think and do. That, in and of itself is another rant for another time, but it’s still good to get that affirmation from yourself, if you can’t get it anywhere else.

I have, for many years, thought my priorities are completely in line with what I needed to be doing at that moment. I have my own issues with the media, and I generally don’t subject myself to television, so I felt I was generally out of its grip. I had control of the situation. We aren’t rich—far from it—but wealth isn’t what matters. And so, my hubris kicked in. It’s probably my biggest flaw. It’s not just pride; it’s the notion that I have to be in charge, or else it won’t work correctly. I’m not a “control-freak.” Sometimes being in charge means proper delegation of authority. I don’t micro-manage. But I do tell people what I want done, and when. Sometimes that works out for me, and sometimes I’m talking to an independently-minded four-year-old. And there are some things that I can’t run. I can’t be the boss of everything. But I often still imagine those things would run more smoothly if I were in charge.

Then an EF-5 tornado came and ripped up everything. It makes one re-evaluate in ways that nothing else can. It certainly stripped away my hubris just the same as it stripped hundreds of trees in Joplin. Of course, that hubris has been replaced by fear and helplessness, so it’s not all good. Not by a long shot. But it has forced a different perspective on me. Now, when I look at my priorities, I see things through eyes that can never see permanence in anything. In Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance series, the wizard Raistlin is given great power, but he is also cursed with eyes that cannot see beauty—he sees things only in a state of decay. Mine are not that extreme, but nothing is the same.

I go through all of this to say, simply, that I’ve found a new direction for myself. It’s the old direction, with more focus. I wanted to write fantasy novels. I may still do that. But there will be a winnowing period. It’s not something I can explain, as I haven’t reached my destination and I have no map, but I know now the road I must travel. A burden is lifted. I can focus now on what I was meant to do—what I was made to do. And that is a gift. Under terrible circumstances such as these, we must extract every gift we can from the wreckage so we can move forward. This has been a long time coming, for me, as there were signs and portents before May 22nd, but now I cannot deny them. I see them all with my altered eyesight. They all point to the same thing. I don’t know exactly where God is taking me with this, but I have signed on for the ride. There are still many things for me to work out along the way, but I have my tickets in hand. God is conducting the train. It’s time for me to move forward.

And so I shall.

]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/old-directions-anew/feed/1dashripkinSome Minor Changeshttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/some-minor-changes/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/some-minor-changes/#respondWed, 15 Jun 2011 05:37:01 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/?p=219]]>I’ve made a couple of changes to my blog here. The changes are fairly minor, but it occurred to me today that the title “The World According to Me” sounded self-centered. That wasn’t what I intended. So I changed it to “The World, One Step at a Time.” This also reflects the notion that I’m taking things one step at a time right now. My world has been turned completely upside-down in the last month. I also changed the tagline, because connecting with my “legions of imaginary fans” doesn’t come across as so amusing anymore. It probably never did. The final change was of my page icon. As of this writing, it hasn’t shown up yet for me, so I’m not sure it’s going to come across. It may be too small as a page icon to decipher what it is. I hope it works out. Anyway, I’ll have another full post up this week. I’m trying to do one long post a week, with smaller updates (like this one) as needed. Thank you all for coming, and comments are always welcome.]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/some-minor-changes/feed/0earthfootdashripkinThe Valley of the Shadow of Deathhttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death/#commentsSun, 12 Jun 2011 06:29:33 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/?p=215]]>Today, this is on my mind:

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (ESV)

This may be Trevor Morgan’s fault. Or maybe not. Either way, there are things to contemplate here. I think I know what the Valley of the Shadow of Death is. Or, rather, where. I think it is the streets of Joplin. If not, that must be what it looks like.

I promise I will stop posting depressing tornado stuff, just as soon as I get it all out of me. I take that back. I don’t know that I will ever get it all out of me. I will carry it with me throughout my days, I’m sure. Eventually, peace will return. Until then, I pray He will restore my soul … and my city.

]]>https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death/feed/1dashripkinTheir Stories, Their Wordshttps://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/their-stories-their-words/
https://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/their-stories-their-words/#respondMon, 06 Jun 2011 18:24:50 +0000http://dashripkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/their-stories-their-words/]]>As I’ve read the stories and followed the media concerning the Joplin Tornado (I understand that is to become its “official” designation, according to Bill Davis of the National Weather Service), and they are heartbreaking, but also inspiring. It’s made me want to write more, because there is so much to be said. I’ve thrown around several ideas, some good, some not-so-good, but then it came to me: why not let these people tell their own stories? After all, it was their words that inspired me in the first place. So, I’ve collected some here for your perusal.

I’ll start with some video stories collected by ignitechurch.tv. There are survival stories and volunteer stories collected here. There is also a great repository of links if you wish to help.

Next, I move to The Joplin Globe (I worked with many of these people years ago during the September 11 terrorist attacks), for its collection of stories “From the Outside.” These are people who weren’t here during the storm, but have ties here.

Last, I’m posting a link to a Facebook Note by Denise Rhodes Beck. I don’t know her. I’ve never met her. I received the link from a friend. But this is powerful stuff. Anyone who is searching for meaning in this tragedy needs look no further than what is in this note. As horrible as it may be, these stories are a message to others. The images are the key to opening that door. We in Joplin have suffered, but we have refused to fold. The story isn’t that we were hit with this storm. The story is in how we have responded in the minutes, weeks, and months afterward. The story is in how many people have taken that step to help others. The story is in how the people of Joplin, Missouri, The United States, and the world have come together to help those in need. We’ve seen this before. I’ve never experienced it on a personal level before. Now I know why there is such a difference in the images on television and actually standing amidst the silence of devastation.

As far as Joplin is concerned, we have lost much. But we have also received a gift, which, in the end, may be much more valuable than any thing we lost* in the storm. That gift is the stories printed here, those printed elsewhere, and those that haven’t seen print yet. Our stories, whether we know it or not, are a mirror. In that mirror is the reflection of ourselves, yes, but also He who lives within us. When others look upon us and see Him, then they want to know more.

Once we rebuild, once we finish, it will then be our duty to continue these stories. We must polish this mirror. We can never let this reflection fade. If this is the only thing we can collect from the rubble, we shall be blessed for it. This may be our greatest opportunity. Joplin is now famous. Its people are famous. We have the world’s stage for a moment. And so far, we have shown the light. Our time on the stage is fading, but our story will never lose its potency. I hope each and every one of us has the opportunity, some time in the future, to bring a hush to a room when we talk about the tornado. If you do, don’t forget the mirror. It’s the important part. It’s the gift you’ll always carry with you; use it.

*I can’t put a value on the lives lost; I limit my point to material objects.